Bringing Life-saving Medications to those Displaced by the Maui Fires

October 3, 2023 - Dr. Cory Lehano is the owner and pharmacist of Mauliola Pharmacy, a Maui Strong Fund grantee operating two small pharmacy locations in Wailuku with 21 staff and team members during normal operations. Operations became anything but normal when the fires struck Maui on August 8.

“The following morning, my phone was lit up,” Lehano told us during an Aug. 21 interview at the Lahaina Comprehensive Health Center. “And everyone was asking for different things. The most recurrent request was for medicine."

Lehano and his team stepped into the whirlwind of needs, delivering life-saving medications to shelters for those who had lost everything in the fire, free of charge.

“We emptied our entire stock. We have three storage sheds, and we emptied all three within the first 48 hours, and just gave whatever we could to whoever needed it,” he says. They didn’t even have time to take account of the inventory of what was given out, saying that if people needed it, they gave it. “That's what it’s there for, and we can figure out inventory later.”

Lehano is quick to mahalo his team but also his fellow local businesses that come together to serve their community in its most dire moments.

“I can't stress the importance of local collaboration. The collaboration here is just amazing. And every single person here in this center is invested in the health of this community and every single person, no matter who you talk to, they are willing to help in any capacity they can. It’s a testament to the capacity of small businesses to serve the needs of the community directly and efficiently,” says Lehano. “We’re just kind of the Swiss Army knife: we’re doing our best to serve in whatever capacity we can. Our ultimate goal is to make sure that displaced residents know that we’re here, and we’re here for them.”

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